ZPD Academy
by PizzaSteve3902
Summary: (On hiatus!) Nick Wilde had been a con mammal all his life. He made lots of money from it, but he got hustled into helping a cop. He has a deep resentment of cops from an old memory, but now he's going to the ZPD Academy! Rated T for mild violence.
1. Prologue

_Author's Note:_

 _This is the gap-filling story in between_ Zootopia _and_ The Rough Life of Nick Wilde _._

 _I need to get a few things straightened up before we begin. First, I got my facts about police academy from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol Academy website mostly. I'm sure most police (and other para-military) academies are all generally the same._

 _Second, I was going to make a story that would be the entire movie, but with extra dialogue and scenes, but I was told that was against website rules to use previously copyrighted material. (Then what's the point of writing fanfiction anyway if we can't use copyrighted material?)_

 _And now, on to the story…_

 **Prologue:**

"You should be up there with me. We did this together," Officer Judy Hopps said to her new friend, Nick Wilde. Nick, a fox who is a con-mammal himself, got hustled by Judy to get him to help her solve a case. Now she's going to give a press briefing at the ZPD about the case.

"Well, am I a cop? No. No, I am not," Nick replied to Judy's request.

"Funny you should say that," Judy said, reaching behind her to grab something. "I've been thinking… it would be nice to have a partner." Judy held out a police academy application form and handed it to Nick.

Nick was shocked that someone would see more in him than just a sly, cunning, tricky fox.

"Here. In case you need something to write with," Judy said, handing Nick her carrot pen—the one she used to hustle Nick.

Mayor Bellwether walked up. "Officer Hopps, it's time."

Judy nodded and crossed her fingers as she stepped up to the podium. Nick smiled. He's touched beyond words she did this.

 **After the press conference…**

"Phew!" Judy said as she stepped off stage to where Nick was standing. "That went so fast! I didn't have a chance to mention you or say anything about how we—"

"Oh, I think you said _plenty_ ," Nick said, clearly upset.

"What do you mean?"

"'Clearly there's a _biological_ component'? 'These predators may be reverting to their _primitive_ , _savage_ ways'? Are you serious?" Nick asked, hurt on his voice.

"I just stated the fasts of the case," Judy said, shrugging. "I mean, it's not like a _bunny_ could go _savage_ …"

"Right. But a _fox_ could, huh?"

"Nick, stop it. You're not like them."

"Oh, there's a _'them'_ now?"

"Ugh! You know what I mean. You're not that kind of predator."

"The kind that needs to be muzzled? The kind that makes you think you need to carry around _Fox Repellant_?

Judy sighed, knowing Nick was right.

"Yeah, don't think I didn't notice that little item we first met." Nick's anger started to rise. "Let me ask you a question. Are you afraid of me?" Judy's face had a look of heartbreak, like she was about to cry at any time. "Do you think I might go nuts? Do think I might go _savage_?" Nick waved his fingers as he stressed the last word. "Do you think I might try to… _eat you_!?" Nick lunged forward like he was about to bite Judy. Judy instinctively put her paw on the Fox Repellent. Nick stands back up and sighs. "I knew it. Just when I thought someone actually believed in me." Nick hands Judy the academy application. "Probably best if you don't have a _predator_ for a partner."

Judy looked at the form. Nick had completely filled it out.

Nick stormed out of the ZPD lobby, ripping the "Junior ZPD Detective" sticker off his shirt and tossing it aside.

"No, Nick! Nick!" Judy yelled after him as she gave chase. The reporters then surrounded her, and she was blocked from getting to Nick.

"Officer Hopps! Were you just threatened by that predator?" asked a reporter who shoved a microphone and camera into her face.

"No, he's my friend!"

"We can't even trust our own friends?" asked a bunny reporter.

"That is not what I said! Please!"

Reporters started asking more questions, closing in around Judy even more.

"Are we safe?"

"Have any other foxes gone savage?"

 **A few months later, after the case was closed for good…**

Another press conference. Nick was standing up on the podium with Judy.

"Officer Hopps! Over here!" shouted several reporters, hoping she would answer their questions.

"Yes?" Judy said, pointing to a sheep reporter.

"What can you tell us about 'Night Howlers'?"

"Night Howlers are Midnicampum Holicithias. They're a Class C Botanical. They are toxic, so farmers will often use them around their fields to keep bugs off the plants," Judy said.

"So, ex-mayor Bellwether used their toxic properties to make predators go savage?"

"Yes."

"And what part did Mister Wilde play in this case?"

"I'll let Mister Wilde answer that," Judy said, stepping back to let Nick stand behind the mic.

"Thank you, Officer Hopps," Nick said. "I am Nicolas Wilde. I was critical to the case because for one, I knew Mister Emmitt Otterton, one of the savage mammals, and second, I was a key witness to several cases of mammals going savage."

"How did you discover Bellwether as being the true mastermind?"

"When me and Officer Hopps were headed to the ZPD with a piece of solid evidence, Bellwether intercepted us and attempted to take the case of evidence, blowing her cover as the mastermind."

"Mister Wilde, what do you plan to do now that the case has been solved?"

Nick looked back at Judy and smiled. "I am going to turn in my application to the ZPD Academy," Nick said, holding up the form—the same one he filled out several months ago.

Cameras started flashing as Nick smiled.

"Mister Wilde, are you aware that a fox has never successfully entered the ZPD Academy?"

"Yes, I am well aware. But as a good friend told me…" Nick looked at Judy and smirked. "… _try everything_."

"Is there anything else you would like to say?"

"I would like to say 'Hi Mom!' like you're supposed to do on TV, but my mom doesn't watch the news."

That got some laughs from the reporters.

"That'll be all," Chief Bogo said, stepping behind the podium.

The reporters began packing up and leaving. Nick and Judy were talking.

"I'm glad you came back for me, Carrots," Nick said, reaching his paw out for Judy to shake. But Judy pushed it away and hugged him.

"I'm so glad we'll be partners, Nick!" Judy said.

"I am too, Carrots," Nick said, hugging back.

Suddenly, there was a squeal from behind them. They broke away and looked to the source—Benjamin Clawhauser.

"You two look so cute together!" Ben said, giddily smiling.

"Ben my boy, you have just made a terrible mistake," Nick said.

"What do you mean, Nick?" Ben asked.

"You _never_ call a bunny _cute_."

Judy looked visibly mad. She roared and charged at Ben as he shrieked and ran off.

" _Ah!_ I didn't mean it! Honest!" Ben yelled as he ran faster than he ever had before.

Nick was laughing his head off as he watched the hunted become the hunter.

"I'll get you, Ben!" Judy yelled in a demonic voice.

"I swear! I didn't know you didn't like that!"

"Yes you did, Ben! I told you my first day!"

Ben stopped. "Oh, yeah. You did."

Judy used the momentary distraction to jump onto Ben's back and start clawing at his ears.

" _Ah!_ Get her off me!" Ben yelled, now running in circles, waving his arms around like a madman.

Nick laughed even harder. "I guess a bunny _can_ go savage!" Nick laughed.

" **HOPPS!** " came the voice of Bogo from the balcony.

Everyone stopped and looked at him. He pointed to his office and Judy solemnly walked up the stairs.

"Heh. You're in trouble," Nick said in a singsong voice.

"You too, Wilde!"

Nick's face filled with shock as he froze and looked back at Bogo. "M—Me?"

" **YES!** "

Nick walked up the stairs as he followed Judy to Bogo's office.

Nick and Judy sat together on the large chair in Bogo's office. Bogo sighed as he sat down.

"What. Was. That?" Bogo asked simply.

"What was what?" Nick asked, trying to play it off.

"What were you doing just now, Hopps?" Bogo asked, ignoring Nick.

"I was, um, uh…" Judy couldn't find the words.

"She was defending her sanity be sacrificing her sanity," Nick said, snickering a bit at the end.

"Nick!" Judy hissed as she kicked his shin.

"Ow!" Nick said quietly.

Bogo glared at Nick. "Don't make me regret approving your application, Wilde!" Bogo said, getting mad.

"You approved it?" Nick asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, but I haven't mailed it yet, so I can still cancel it, so don't test me."

"Sir, yes sir!" Nick said, looking serious as he saluted.

Bogo sighed and saluted back. "Dismissed."

Nick and Judy walked back to the lobby.

"So, could you give me a ride to my apartment?" Nick asked.

"Sure, but we'll have to ride in the Joke-Mobile, you know," Judy said.

"On second thought, I could get there faster by walking," Nick said.

Judy chuckled. "Ok then, see you tomorrow for lunch?"

"Ok. See you then." Nick waved and started walking towards his apartment.

 _This'll be a long journey,_ Nick thought as he walked along the evening streets of Savannah Central. _But it'll be worth it._

 _Author's Note:_

 _And there is the prologue. See you in chapter one! Remember to favorite, follow, and review!_


	2. Chapter 1 - Packing Bags

**Chapter 1 – Packing Bags:**

It's a new stage in life. Everyone will go through different stages in life. For Nick Wilde, his new stage starts today. He finally broke the stereotype around foxes. Or at least that's what he thought.

"Finnick, I have something to tell you," Nick said, sitting in the van that belonged to said fox.

"Yeah, what is it?" Finnick replied, taking a chug from his can of soda.

"I'm joining the police academy."

Finnick looked at Nick, then looked down. "I saw that on the news. So, you really want to leave this life behind?"

"I feel it's been long enough living dodging the law and whatnot."

"I understand, bro."

"I hope that there's no hard feelings between us. I'll keep in touch."

"You better keep in touch." Finnick said, waving his fist around.

"Don't worry, man. I'll at least text you every day." Nick said, smirking.

"See you at your graduation, man," Finnick said, hugging Nick.

"See you later," Nick said, hugging back.

Nick got out of the van and walked home.

When he arrived home, he walked into the lobby of the building and knocked on the landlady's office.

"Come in!" came the reply from inside.

Nick stepped in.

"What do you want, Wilde?" the landlady, Miss Rebecca Wolvien, a wolf, asked. She was typing at her computer.

"I'm leaving town for five months, so can I put my apartment on hold?" Nick asked.

Rebecca sighed. "I guess so. You'll need to pay a $200 deposit though."

Nick sighed and pulled out his wallet. "Fine. Here." He handed two hundred dollar bills to her.

"Thank you. Enjoy your trip, Nicolas."

 _Before I pay her, she's always cross at me, and then after I pay, she's the nicest person. What's up with that?_ Nick thought as he left the office and walked to his apartment.

He put his key into the door and opened up the door to _Château de la Wilde_ , as Nick liked to call it. It wasn't much of a castle, really.

It was a simple apartment, with the living room as the first room. To the right was the kitchen, which was open to the living room and dining room, which was partitioned off from the living room.

To the left was a short hallway which led to the bathroom on the left and the bedroom on the right. The bedroom's air conditioner duck is clogged, and the landlady won't pay to fix it, so Nick has a window unit in there.

It had been a week since the application had been mailed, and Nick was going to leave tomorrow afternoon for the Academy.

Nick walked into his bedroom, pulled his suitcase out of the closet and threw it onto the bed. He opened it up and started putting clothes into it.

As he was searching through the drawers of the dresser for anything he would need to take, he found an old, wrinkled polaroid picture. It was of him and his mom during his twelfth birthday. He looked at it for a while, and the memory of that day came back as if it happened yesterday…

 **June 12** **th** **, 1994:**

"Cheese!" the two foxes said as their picture was taken. The flash snapped, blinding them for a second, then the whir of the camera sounded as the developing photo came out. Nick grabbed the picture out of the camera.

"Look Mom!" Nick said as he handed the photo to his mother.

"Yes, Nick. It's a good picture. You got the tripod just right," Marie, Nick's mother said.

"Can I go play Skee Paw with Finnick now?"

"Yes, go play." Marie picked little Viki up and held her in her arms.

The two little foxes ran off into the games area to play their favorite game, Skee Paw.

Marie sat down in the party room with Viki on her lap. She had saved up money for years to take Nick here for his birthday. She finally had gotten him here.

Just then, the waiter came in. He was a sheep, and he didn't see Marie when he first entered.

"Over here," Marie said.

The waiter's nose wrinkled up. "Oh. It's a _Red Devil_. I see you're here to make a mess of things, aren't you?"

"No. Actually, I'm here to celebrate my son's birthday. He and his friend are out in the games area."

"Where they can torment the other children."

"No, it's not like that."

"I really couldn't care less."

"Can we just get two large chicken pizzas?"

"I'll see."

"And three root beers."

"Whatever."

The waiter left the room and Marie gave Viki her bottle.

Nick and Finnick entered right after.

"Hey, did you order our food?" Nick asked.

"Yes, I ordered two large chicken pizzas and two root beers."

"Thanks, Missus Wilde," Finnick said.

"You're welcome, Finnick."

Just then, the waiter came back in.

"Yay! Pizza!" Nick said.

The waiter set the plate down and opened the cover to reveal… a small vegan pizza…?

"What the heck!?" Marie exclaimed. "I swore I ordered a _large chicken_ pizza! I know I did!"

"I don't care," the waiter said, and left.

"Dairy free cheese? Yuck!" Nick said, poking at the pizza.

"Bell peppers? Blech!" Finnick said, also poking the pizza.

"Where's the meat?" Nick asked.

"I'm sorry boys. Maybe I can straighten this out." Marie stood up, handed Viki to Nick, and walked out of the party room.

She walked up to the door of the kitchen and waited for the sheep waiter to leave the kitchen. When he did, Marie grabbed his arm.

"I want to see the manager," she demanded.

The waiter jerked his arm out of her grip. "If you do, it'll be for your loss and my gain."

"All I want is a birthday party for my son!"

At this point, Nick and Finnick peeked their heads around the corner to watch.

"And you can get it… if you go somewhere else, like maybe a _fox_ pizza parlor. Aren't there any of those in your part of town?"

"There are, but my son wanted to go here, and we want the pizza we ordered!"

"You want your pizza? Well here you go then."

The waiter punched Marie in the jaw right there, and she dropped to the ground.

Nick yelled out and ran to her side. "Mom!"

"I'm… I'm ok, Nick," Marie said, wiping the blood away from her mouth.

"I'll kill you!" Nick said as he jumped onto the waiter.

"No, Nick! That's what he wants you to do!" Marie pleaded.

Finnick jumped on, too, and they started scratching the waiter.

"Call 911!" the waiter yelled into the kitchen as he fell down.

Nick and Finnick then let the waiter go, and they helped Marie onto a chair.

"Are you ok, Missus Wilde?" Finnick asked.

"Yes. I'm proud of you for trying to protect me, but that isn't the way you should have done that," Marie said.

"What do you mean?" Nick asked.

Suddenly, there was the sound of someone bursting in the front door. "Freeze! ZPD!" said the new voice. "Paws in the air!"

Marie raised her paws above her head and stood up and faced the cop. The cop put her in pawcuffs and led her back to his car.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law…"

"Mom!" Nick pleaded. Marie looked back at Nick, and shook her head "no."

"You're coming, too," said the cop's partner, who put pawcuffs on Nick and Finnick.

 **Later…**

"So the victim claims you had your son and his friend attack him. Is that true?" asked the interrogator.

"No," Marie said.

"Mm hm, but you did assault him first, correct?"

"No. I grabbed his arm so he would listen to me."

"Look, we know you did, so tell us the truth."

"I didn't! I swear, I didn't assault anybody."

"Ok, and why were you at Pizza Steve's Kiddie Palace in the first place?"

"Like I told you, we were there to celebrate my son's birthday!"

The cops continued their interrogation, and eventually put Marie in jail for one week, and Nick and Finnick were put in juvenile detainment for a week as well.

When they got out, the landlady at their apartment had them evicted for not paying rent on time.

They lived on the streets for a week before they had enough to pay rent again.

Marie had lost her job, but Nick was making ideas on how to make money.

It wasn't until a few months later when Jeff came home. He and Finnick started hustling to make money for Marie.

It worked well, but Nick had a deep resentment of cops, but he never told anyone, or showed it.

 **Back in the present…**

Nick tossed the photo into his suitcase and zipped it up. He set it down beside the bed and crawled under the covers. Closing his eyes, he was glad he was going to be a cop.

"I'm going to make the world like foxes again," Nick said quietly to himself.

 _Author's Note:_

 _I think everybody can see the cameo of myself in this chapter! Pizza Steve's Pizza is a restaurant that has two branches, the Kiddie Palace and the regular buffet. I added that for a joke. It's going to become a popular place for characters to meet now!_


	3. Chapter 2 - The Trip

_Chapter 2 – The Trip:_

The next morning was a bright, sunny day. The perfect kind of day for an early morning jog, which is exactly what Nick did before breakfast.

After he ate breakfast, he decided to watch some TV to pass the time.

After that, he went to go eat lunch with Judy. She picked the place out, Pizza Steve's Buffet. Nick didn't want to go there, but he wanted to get rid of the past.

When he arrived, Judy had already chosen a booth for them to sit at.

"How's it going, Nick?" Judy asked as Nick sat down.

"Good. How about you, Carrots?" Nick replied.

"It's going good."

"I'm going to go get my food." Nick stood up and went to the buffet and got a couple slices of pizza, before sitting back down.

"You seem stressed," Judy commented.

"Well, I am going to the Academy later, so yeah I would be stressed."

"No, I mean you seem stressed about something else. What is it?"

Nick sighed. "Alright. It was my twelfth birthday. We went to a Pizza Steve's Kiddie Palace to celebrate. The waiter was being rude to my mom, and he even punched her."

Judy gasped. "Was she ok?"

"Yeah, she was fine. Anyway, the waiter falsely claimed she assaulted him. She got put in jail for a week and lost her job. It was a long time before she got another job. That was the circumstance that I was in when I started hustling."

"Oh, Nick, I didn't know that."

"Nobody did. I never told that story. I hated cops for a long time after that, too. But I got over that in high school. That's one of the reasons I said seeing you fail made me feel good."

"You didn't tell Finnick?"

"He was there!"

"Oh. Well, are we going to just sit here and mope about the past, or are we going to look forward to the future?"

"To the future!" Nick said, raising his glass of soda.

"To the future!" Judy echoed, also raising her glass.

.

"Goodbye, Nick," Judy said, hugging Nick bye.

"Bye, Carrots. See you during my vacation from the academy?" Nick replied.

"You know it."

Just then, Judy's phone started ringing.

"Hey! My parents are calling!" Judy said, answering the video call. "Hi Mom!"

" _Oh, hi Judy. I just wanted to see how you're doing in the big city,"_ Bonnie said.

"I'm doing good. I'm going to get a partner in a few months!"

" _That's great! Have you met her yet?"_

"Yeah, and she is actually a he. His name is Nick Wilde, and he is—"

" _Hang on, Hon. Your dad is needing help. I'll talk to you later, ok?"_

Judy chuckled. "Ok. Bye."

" _Bye."_

Judy sighed.

"You're not looking forward to telling your parents your partner is a fox, are you?" Nick said.

"No. Do you know how bad they'll freak out? Dad would kill me!"

"I'm sure he won't. Well, I for one have a train to catch. See you later!"

Nick picked up his suitcase and walked off towards Savannah Central Station. He bought his ticket and boarded the train.

As soon as Nick sat down, another passenger sat beside him, a dingo. Nick ignored him as he put his earbuds in his ears and watched the scenery move behind them. After a few minutes, Nick fell asleep.

.

An hour later, and they still weren't there. Nick woke up and stared at the ceiling.

"Where're you goin', mate?" asked the dingo sitting beside Nick. He obviously grew up in Outback Island from his accent.

"To the ZPD Academy," Nick replied, taking his earbuds out.

"You're that city fox from TV, aren't you? Nick Wilde, right?"

"In the flesh."

"That's digeridoo, mate!"

"Thanks… I think."

The dingo laughed. "Yes, that means 'awesome' where I come from."

"Oh. I know the streets of Outback Island just as good as the rest of Zootopia, but I'm not great at the dialects."

"That's alright, mate. I'm Michael Dundee, but everyone calls me Crocodile."

"Why's that?"

"You might not want to know, mate."

"Alright then."

Nick settled back into his seat as he drifted back into sleep. But there was a commotion that woke him up. A passenger, a bear, had stood up and was blocking the aisle.

"Listen up, commuters!" he yelled. Nick opened one eye and observed him. "I have with me, a knife!" the bear pulled out a ten-inch blade and showcased it.

Passengers started screaming as they ducked for cover.

 _What good will ducking do?_ Nick thought as he stood up, awake now.

"And a bomb in my backpack!"

 _Oh. Now ducking for cover would be a good idea,_ Nick thought as he ducked behind the seat.

"What're we going to do, mate?" Crocodile asked.

"Whatever I can," Nick said, pulling out his .9mm concealed-carry pistol.

He chambered a round and slowly stood up, pointing it at the bear.

"Drop the knife!" Nick yelled in a demanding tone.

The bear's nostrils flared at Nick's defiance. "You can't make me!"

Nick thought through his options.

Shoot him now? No. Too easy to get framed. Call the ZPD? No. Would need to take eyes off of the bear. Ask his demands? Yes.

"What are your demands?" Nick asked.

"All I ask is for you to recognize to supremacy of the predators!"

 _Another Nazi extremist,_ Nick thought. "No can do, Big Guy."

The bear roared and charged at Nick, shaking the train as he did so.

Everything went into slow motion for Nick. The bear's breaths, every movement of the train car, and the sights of the pistol. Nick aimed carefully and pulled the trigger. He saw the bullet fly out of the barrel and head towards its intended target. Nick jumped up and grabbed the ceiling rails as the bear landed where he once stood.

The bear was clutching his foot, moaning in pain—Nick's shot hit right where he aimed.

Just then, the train finally stopped and ZPD officers poured in. Officer McHorn, in full SWAT gear, pulled the bear to his feet.

"It's fake! It's fake! The bomb is fake!" the bear was shouting as he limped out of the train.

Officer Wolfard put pawcuffs on Nick, too.

"What are you doing? I just saved them!" Nick protested.

"Hey!" Crocodile said, stopping Wolfard. "He did just save us all." Wolfard looked at the smoking gun that he took from Nick.

"Did this fox just save your lives?" Wolfard asked the passengers.

It was a unanimous "Yes" from the passengers.

"This fox is Nick Wilde and is on his way to the ZPD Academy, mate. His actions here were just digeridoo. That's all I have to say," Crocodile said.

Wolfard looked embarrassed and took the pawcuffs off of Nick. "Sorry about that. Good luck at the academy. Hope to see you working with us in a few months."

"Thanks. I'll look forward to it."

.

Another half-hour, and the train finally arrived. Nick said goodbye to Crocodile and thanked him for standing up for him. He got off the train and stood on the platform looking at the campus.

"Oh, wow…"

 _Author's Note:_

 _Crocodile Dundee is not the real Crocodile Dundee. Only the name and accent is the same._


	4. Chapter 3 - The Academy

_Author's Note:_

 _Thank you everybody for all the positive feedback. I really appreciate it. Sorry for not updating more often. I have lots of things going on. I'll try to update more often now._

 _Chapter 3 – The Academy:_

The Academy was much larger than Nick had imagined. The gate was huge. It towered over Nick as he walked in. He felt like a flea on a wolf's back.

Nick walked into the registration building right behind a rhino, who opened the giant door so Nick didn't need to.

Nick stopped and looked up at the table. It was huge! The table was at least ten feet tall. Nick set his suitcase against the table and climbed up the table to the top.

"Hello?" Nick asked as soon as he got to the top.

"May I help you sir?" asked the receptionist, a female hippo with glasses.

"I am Nick Wilde. I am here to be admitted into the Police Academy Program."

"Ah yes! Bogo said you would be arriving today." She pointed out a clipboard with papers for him to fill out. "Once you get those done, head over to the men's dorm building. Charles will get you your dorm assigned."

Nick finished filling out the papers and gave them to the hippo. He climbed down the table and walked out into the courtyard. He saw the dorm building and walked towards it. He walked in and looked around the lobby.

"May I help you?" asked a porcupine behind a desk.

"Are you Charles?" asked Nick.

"Yes."

"I am Nick Wilde. I was told you'd get me my room assigned."

"Oh yes. Room 5B. I believe that should be sufficient for you. Here's the key."

"Alright," Nick said, taking the key.

The stairs creaked as Nick walked up them. The building looked like it was over a hundred years old. It needed a replacement. There was also this strange scent about the place. It smelled like sweat, dirty socks, and another odor Nick couldn't put his tongue on (which he hoped he never had to).

Nick arrived at the room and unlocked it. There were two bunk beds. There were sheets on all of them except the top bunk on one bed. Nick threw his stuff onto it and walked out, locking the door behind him.

He wandered around the campus until he found a building that said across the door, "Frosty's Bar".

"Seems like the hangout," Nick said to himself as he entered.

There was a bar in the middle with bar stools of various sizes around it. There were several tables with chairs around the rest of the room, all various sizes. There were TVs around the place, as well as a dart board and other decorations on the walls. There was a snow leopard cleaning the bar. Nick walked up.

"Hey there. What can I get you?" asked the snow leopard as Nick sat on a stool at the bar.

"What do you have?" Nick asked.

"Well, I'll tell you now, this place isn't what you think."

"What do you mean?"

"We don't serve alcohol. It's a rule that no alcohol is allowed on the campus. So we serve soda here."

"Hm. Do you have a root beer?"

"Oh yeah. That's the specialty." The snow leopard filled a glass with the foamy carbonated liquid and gave it to Nick.

Nick tasted the drink and smiled. "Now that is some _good_ root beer!"

"I make all my soda in-house. The name's Kirk. Kirk Phrosté. But nobody can ever spell that, so

I go by Frosty. Makes things easier, right?"

"Yeah. I understand that. Name's Nick Wilde."

"Are you that fox cadet?"

"Yep."

"Nice. Want me to set up a tab for ya?"

"Why not?"

"Ok. See you around."

"You bet."

Nick drank the last of his root beer and left. He walked back to the dorm room. When he got there, he heard noises from inside. He opened the door and peeked in. There were three other

mammals in there, talking. Nick slowly walked in.

"Hey! Look who's here! It's Cadet Wilde!" said the cougar.

The mammals started cheering.

"Welcome to the club, Nick!" said one of the arctic wolves.

"Thanks," Nick said.

"Don't pay any attention to them. They're crazy. I'm Jacob Alpine. That's my twin brother, Aaron. The cougar is Jordan Cougran."

"Nice to meet you all. I had a stressful day today. I just want to relax," Nick said.

"Go ahead. It'll get crazy tomorrow," Jacob said.

Nick put the sheets on his bed and laid down on them.

.

After an hour, Jacob woke Nick up.

"Hey! Wake up!"

"Huh? I didn't know I fell asleep."

"We're all going to head over to Frosty's. Wanna come hang out?"

"Sure."

Nick climbed down and followed his roommates to the "bar".

There were more mammals in the place now. The four gathered around a table and sat down.

"Hey Frosty! Get us a round of root beer and a basket of mozzarella sticks!" said Aaron.

"You got it!" Frosty said, going into the kitchen.

The TVs were playing the ZNN News, and they were playing the story about the bomb threat in the train.

"Hey! I'm in this story!" Nick said, pointing to the TV.

"Frosty! Turn the TV up!" said Jordan.

"… _And I have here Mister Michael Dundee,"_ said the reporter on TV. _"He was on the train with the bear. Mister Dundee, what were your thoughts as the bear claimed to have a bomb?"_

" _Well, it was a mixture of dread, excitement, adrenaline, and other stuff, ya know, mate?"_

"Hey! I know him!" Nick said, elbowing Jacob.

" _And what happened exactly?"_

" _Well, I was ducked behind the seats with my new friend, Nick Wilde and I asked him what we should do. He said he would do whatever he could, and he pulled out this pistol. It was a Ruger American .9mm. That's a good gun to buy, by the way._

" _Anyway, while he was talking to the bomber, I called the ZPD. It seemed like the right thing to do."_

" _Amazing. And Nick Wilde, what made him special?"_

" _He was on his way to the ZPD Academy, of course! He's gonna be the first fox police officer. That's just digeridoo, mate!"_

" _Incredible. Well this is Marianne Summers of the ZNN reporting live from Savannah Central Station…"_

"You stopped a bomb threat?" Aaron asked, disbelieving.

"Yeah. I told you I had a stressful day, didn't I?" Nick said, leaning back in his chair.

"Woah! Hold up! Do you have any proof?" asked Jordan.

"Sure do," Nick said, pulling the pistol out and laying it on the table.

"It _is_ a Ruger American .9mm!" Jordan exclaimed.

Just then, Frosty put the basket of mozzarella sticks down with the four mugs of root beer.

"You are real police material, Nick Wilde," Aaron said, patting Nick on the back.

 _I'm fitting in already,_ Nick thought with a smirk on his face.

 _Author's Note:_

 _I was going to make Frosty's a real bar, but I thought that wouldn't make a good combination with the police academy, so there's a rule of no alcohol, tobacco, or drugs (unless the drugs are checked in) on campus. If the cadets cannot follow this simple rule, how can they be expected to uphold the law? And plus, I've always envisioned a place like the bar from Cheers or like Enzo's from Kevin Can Wait with soda and milkshakes instead of beer. Makes it more inviting in my opinion._

 _Also, there was a problem with the formatting when I was writing, so I'm not sure if some of the stuff will display right._


	5. Chapter 4 - First Class

_Chapter 4 – The First Class:_

The cadets were in a semi-circle in the parade ground at 0500 (5 AM for those who don't know how to use 24-hour time). The cadets were of various sizes, the largest being two elephants, while the smallest being Nick. Nick, being the fox he is, has gotten used to sleeping in. He kept yawning and rubbing his eyes.

"Wake up, Nick!" Jacob kept saying, nudging Nick.

"I'm working on it!" Nick would snap back.

Eventually, Major Friedkin finally arrived. She had a clipboard in her paw and was looking it over. "Alright! Looks like everybody is here!"

"Half here," Nick mumbled.

"What was that, Cadet!?" Friedkin said, looking right at Nick.

"Nothing."

"I thought so. Alright! Listen up, cadets! Zootopia has twelve unique ecosystems! You're gonna have to master all of them before you hit the streets! Or guess what?"

"You'll be dead," Nick said, finishing Friedkin's sentence.

"Shut up, Firefox!"

"Hm, Firefox. I like it."

"Just shut up before I throw you out!"

"My muzzle is sealed." Nick made the motion of zipping his mouth shut and throwing the key away.

Friedkin rolled her eyes and went back to her orientation speech. "Today is where we'll see where you stand in the way of training. We'll use your results today to determine where you'll best be suited for, whether it be patrol, records, parking duty, or whatever. Today is where we'll see what you can do."

"Seems easy enough," Nick said.

"Alright!" Friedkin leaned down to Nick's face. "Let's see how fast you can do fifty push-ups! Now!"

Nick dropped and started doing push-ups, counting as he went. "One… Two… Three… Four… Five…"

.

"Alright cadets!"

The cadets had assembled in front of the Sahara Square sandstorm simulator.

"Get to the other side as fast as you can!"

Nick got down in the starting position. He was flanked on the right by Jacob and Aaron, and Jordan on his left. The fans started, blowing sand all over the cadets.

Nick started crawling on the hot sand. He was having trouble, but he started re-thinking his strategy. Instead of strength to pull through, aerodynamics would make it easier on himself.

He got as low to the ground as he could, and slowly crawled forward. The wind didn't slow him down nearly as much.

After about fifteen minutes, he made it to the other end without many problems. Major Friedkin had a scowl on her face.

"Impressive. But passing on the first time doesn't get you special treatment, Desert Fox."

"I'm not a German," Nick mumbled.

"What did you say!?"

"Nothing, Major."

"Good. Everybody to the next course!"

.

Now the cadets were lined up at the Rainforest District simulator. Nick gulped as he looked down.

"Don't worry. It's not going to hurt," Jacob said.

"How do you know that?" Nick asked.

"I don't I'm just guessing."

Nick sighed. This reminded him of two things. One, when he and Judy were being chased by Manches, and this one time in kindergarten. A bully knocked him off the monkey bars. He broke his arm, and he was scared to go on monkey bars ever since.

"Begin!" yelled Friedkin. "Be careful not to fall down the thousand-foot fall!"

Aaron started first. He was moving along like it was no big deal. Next was one of the elephants. He slipped and fell, landing face-first in the mud.

"You're dead!" Friedkin yelled.

Jordon went next. He almost fell halfway through, but he managed to continue on.

Next was Nick. He put his paws on the first bar, readying himself for the test. He took a few deep breaths.

"I'm waiting!" yelled Friedkin.

Nick started going. He went from one bar to the next. He went halfway across, when he felt his grip slipping. _No!_ Nick thought as he started losing his grip. His paws let go of the bar, and he started falling, when he suddenly stopped. He looked behind him to see Jacob holding on to his shirt.

"I'm not going to let you fall."

"Thanks."

Nick grabbed the bars again and finished the course.

"Thanks for catching me back there," Nick said once Jacob had finished.

"No problem. I can't let you fall into the mud on the first try," Jacob said, slapping Nick's back.

"Alright cadets! Go take a break in Frosty's while I tally up your scores so far!" Friedkin said.

"Let's get there before all the good seats are taken," Aaron said.

"Right behind you!" Nick said as he took off behind Aaron. Jordan and Jacob followed close behind.

.

"Man! That Friedkin, am I right?" Jordan said as he sipped on his orange soda.

"You're more right than a right turn," Aaron said.

"Hey, at least she's changed from what I've heard," Nick said, biting a mozzarella stick covered in marinara.

"What do you mean?" Jordan asked.

"My friend who got me to apply for the academy in the first place, well, let's just say Friedkin was a bit specist about her. She claims she made it a literal hell for her."

"Tough. Who is she?" Aaron asked.

"Judy Hopps," Nick said, tossing the rest of the gooey, breaded cheese into his mouth. "First bunny officer ever."

"We've all heard of her. So you're friends with her?" Jacob asked.

"Yeah. I was a bit harsh on her at first, but she showed me what a bunny could do. I decided to follow her example to break stereotypes, so I joined."

Jordan was wiping his eyes with his sleeves. " _SNIFF!_ So inspiring!"

"Are you ok?" Jacob asked.

"Oh yeah! I just love a touching story!" Jordan said.

"I haven't even gotten to the best part," Nick said, taking a long sip from his root beer. He paused for dramatic emphasis.

"Are you going to tell us?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah—in the next chapter," Nick said, biting another mozzarella stick covered in marinara.

"You're killing me here, Nick!" Jacob said, slapping his forehead.

"Yeah. I know," Nick said, smirking.


	6. Chapter 5 - A Touching Story

_Chapter 05 – A Touching Story:_

"Ok, it's the next chapter. Tell us the story!" Aaron said.

"Ok, ok. I'll tell you my life story," Nick said, taking a sip of his drink.

"It started in Zootopia, when I was born—"

"Not that far!" Jacob said.

"Ok. I was five when life really began for me. My father was drafted into the army. He left soon after my birthday, actually. When I was nine, I tried to join the Junior Ranger Scouts. I was rejected and bullied, and I changed my life right then. I decided to become the stereotype because nobody would ever believe I could be different.

"My sister was born when I was twelve, and that was when I started hustling. It all started with conning that guy $50 for a $5 watch." Nick started chuckling. "Man, the look on that guy's face when we said it was a gold watch!

"Anyway, that same day, I bought a Swine Army Knife with my money I got. I was so proud, I carried it everywhere for years.

"Then in high school, my life took a drastic turn. My friend Archie was murdered by a gang, and I made my girlfriend—or, more like sort-of girlfriend—hate me. When I moved out, I felt free to be me. Life went on as usual for me. I got married and had a happy life. But my wife," Nick sniffed a bit. "She died in a car wreck. I was devastated, but I got over it. I continued hustling, until…

"…She appeared. Judy Hopps fell for my con, and it made her so mad. I just brushed her off, telling her she would never be a real cop. But the next day, she found me and conned me into helping her solve a case. I led her to the Mystic Spring Oasis, then to the DMV, then to Tundratown Limo Service, then to the Rainforest District, where we were attacked by a savage jaguar. Then we went to City Hall, then we went to Cliffside Asylum outside Zootopia. From there, we made the arrest. I'm sure all of you know what followed, right?"

The three others nodded their heads yes.

"Good. And you also know about the press conference?"

Another unanimous yes.

"Also good. But right after, I got mad at Judy for blaming predator's biology for the attacks. I threw the application to the ZPD she had given me earlier away and walked off. I don't know why she didn't follow me all the way, but I just went back to my life. But it wouldn't work anymore, predators were the enemy. Nobody would even get close to you, but I'm sure you all know the troubled times of then.

"Eventually, Judy found me. She explained she was sorry and she needed to fix what she claimed she broke. I accepted and we went following the trail of Night Howler flowers. We found a lab in an abandoned subway that was connected to the attacks, so we took some evidence to the ZPD. On our way, we were intercepted by Mayor Bellwether. She explained how she was the mastermind, and almost tried to kill Judy using me. But I had switched the dart with a blueberry before, so it had no effect on me. The ZPD showed up and saved us. We then went to another press conference, where I announced I was joining the ZPD, and here I am today."

The three others were speechless. "…Wow," Jacob said.

"I had no idea, Nick," Jordan said.

"You've had quite a rough life, haven't you?" Aaron said.

"Yeah. There is a fanfic by that name, but it's the sequel to this story, so we won't mention it," Nick said.

"Another fourth wall joke, really?" Aaron asked.

"You know, I thought my story would be longer than that. It was only a little more than 520 words," Nick said.

"Again!?" Jordan exclaimed.

"Hey! I joke around." Nick said. "If I want to make a fourth wall joke, I can."

"More like _several_ fourth wall jokes!" Jordan said.

 _Author's Note:_

 _I thought Nick's story would be long enough for its own chapter, but I guess not, but, maybe it's the right length; I don't really know 100%. I have a plan for the next few chapters, and they'll be longer. Favorite, Follow, and Review (FFR)!_


	7. Chapter 6 - Back to Class

_Chapter 06 – Back to Class:_

"Alright cadets!" Friedkin yelled as she burst through the door. "Playtime's over! Time to get back to work!"

Everyone got up out of their chairs and walked out the door. Before Nick could get pushed away, he stuffed as many mozzarella sticks as he could into his mouth, then as many as he could in his pockets.

"Dude? Really?" Jacob asked when he saw Nick.

"Hey, I like 'em," Nick said after he swallowed the ones in his mouth.

The cadets lined up on the parade ground, as Friedkin paced in front of them, reading her clipboard.

"Alright!" Friedkin yelled. "The scores so far are in! We'll start with Firefox here!"

"That's me," Nick whispered to Jacob.

"Oh, really?" Jacob said sarcastically. "You're the only fox here."

"Shut it!" Friedkin yelled as Nick and Jacob snapped to attention.

"Yes sir!" Jacob and Nick said, saluting.

Friedkin looked Nick over. "You have a score of 87% in resourcefulness, Firefox. As well as a 79% in strength pound for ounce. All other scores totaled, you have an overall first day score of 89%. Good job."

"I…I do?" Nick said, stunned.

"Yes. Do you want me to put your emotional score at 100%?" Friedkin asked.

"No ma'am!" Nick said as he saluted again.

"Jacob Alpine! Overall first day score of 85%. Good job."

Friedkin went down the line, giving everyone their first day scores.

After she was done, Nick raised his paw.

"Do you have to use the potty, Firefox?" Friedkin asked in a singsong voice.

"No, but, are classes over? It's only 1700 hours, but you've already given us our scores," Nick asked.

"I gave you your first day _physical_ scores. Now you all go into the classrooms to get your first day _mental_ scores," Friedkin replied.

.

Nick stared at the piece of paper in front of him. This question was a tough one. _What do you say to the dispatcher when a robbery is taking place?_ Nick hadn't studied the police 10 codes yet. Nick raised his paw.

"Yes?" asked the teacher, Mr. Dunlap, an American bison.

"What do I answer if I haven't studied the 10 codes yet?" asked Nick.

"Whatever you want. We'll study the codes later," Mr. Dunlap replied.

Nick started thinking. He knew the correct answer had to do with the 10 codes, but he didn't know them. So he wrote his answer down and handed it in.

After a while, all the papers were turned in. Mr. Dunlap started writing on the blackboard as he explained the answer.

"The correct answer is to tell the dispatcher your patrol number, give them the 10 code corresponding to the type of robbery, the location, and request backup. For example, say an officer's patrol number is 10-Mary-3, and he sees a robbery that he can't identify what specific type at the corner of 10th and Hoot streets. He would tell the dispatcher: 'This is 10-Mary-3, we have a 10-31 at 10th and Hoot. Request backup. Over.' And the dispatcher would respond: 'Acknowledged, 10-Mary-3, 10-31 at 10th and Hoot. Sending backup.'"

Jordan raised his paw.

"Yes?"

"Isn't that patrol number off that old TV show, _CHiPs_?"

"Yes, it is."

"Nice!"

"Alright cadets. It's time for the end-of-the-first-day ceremony."

.

The ceremony was really just Friedkin and the commandant lowering the Zootopia city flag, then everyone was dismissed for the night. Nick and his roommates went to Frosty's for a drink, then went back to the dorm.

"Man! I am so tired," Aaron said as he landed on his bed.

"You said it, bro," Jacob said.

" _ZZZZZZ…_ " was all Jacob got from Aaron.

"Is it ok if I step out for a few minutes?" Nick asked.

"Sure," Jordan said. "I could see if I can get Aaron to stop snoring while you're gone."

"He won't stop, trust me," Jacob said. "I lived my whole life with him. He…"

Nick shut the door and walked all the way outside. He sat on a bench right outside the dorm. He pulled his phone out and dialed Judy.

" _Nick! How's it going?_ " Judy asked once she answered.

"It's going great! My roommates are nice, and I got an 89% on the physical. And… a disappointing 60% on the written test," Nick said.

" _60%! I know you're smarter than that!_ "

"I know, I know. I just, I'm not fully learned up about the lingo and such yet."

" _You have to learn it. Hey! I have an idea! I can quiz you at night to help you._ "

"Hey, that's a good idea, but I need to sleep right now. See you in a few weeks."

" _Alright Oh! And I'm going to buy a car!_ "

"Nice. Talk to you tomorrow. Bye."

" _Bye, Nick._ "


	8. Chapter 7 - Bear With Me

_Author's Note: And I'm back! Thanks for being patient with me. So sorry it took so long to write this, I had writer's block for a while, but I finally got this chapter done. I'll be able to do more sooner now. (I hope...) Enjoy!_

 _Chapter 7 – Bear With Me:_

The next morning, the four roommates went to the cafeteria for breakfast. Nick got the blueberry pancakes (obviously), Aaron got the bug sausage biscuits, Jacob got the same as Aaron (they're identical twins, they do everything the same… mostly), and Jordan got the catnip omelet.

"Dude, that just looks and smells nasty," Aaron said to Jordan once they were all sitting down.

"Hey, I'm a feline, you're all canine. That's all I need to say," Jordan replied as he stuck the fork loaded with food into his mouth.

"Um, actually I'm vulpine. Vulpes Vulpes to be specific," Nick said. "Red fox."

"Ok, whatever," Jacob said as he stuffed his food into his mouth.

.

After they ate breakfast, the cafeteria was mostly empty.

"We'll head over to the parade ground," Jacob said to Nick, who was just finishing his eggs.

"Alright. I'll catch you over there," Nick said.

Jacob, Aaron and Jordan left the cafeteria. The two bear cadets were leaning against the cafeteria doorposts, watching Nick eat. Nick ignored them. Once Nick finished his eggs, he threw the plate away, and was on his way out, when a large paw grabbed his shirt.

"Who do you think you are, _fox_?" asked the owner of the paw.

Nick turned around and saw the two bears. The shorter one was the one who had Nick.

"I'm Nick Wilde," Nick said.

"Well you think you're so great, don't you?" said the taller bear.

"What are you talking about?" Nick asked, when in reality, he knew exactly what he was talking about.

The bear picked Nick up by the collar of his shirt so he could look him in the eye.

"Now look here, _Red Devil_ , we don't like you or your kind. You're just a shifty little guy who's gonna con everyone out here. I know who you are," the short bear said.

"Well, I'm glad we could have this talk, but I really must be going," Nick said.

"I'm not done with you!" the bear said. "I'm sick and tired of little animals thinking they can compete with the big boys like us."

"You know, doing this constitutes a charge of assault if you _do_ attack me. We're in the _police_ academy after all, and I read the books. You should too. Chapter 5, under _assault charges_ ," Nick said with a smirk.

The bear just growled. "Next week, you're gonna regret coming here, _fox_."

.

Nick went to the parade grounds and joined the rest of the cadets.

"What took you so long?" asked Jacob.

"Oh, just stopped to talk to some other cadets," Nick half-lied.

"Oh, ok."

"Attention!" Friedkin yelled as she stepped in front of the cadets. They snapped to attention. "Looks like everybody is here. We'll get started, then!" Friedkin turned around. "Drop and give me twenty!" she yelled, spinning around to face the cadets again. All of them were instantly on the ground, doing push-ups as fast as they could.

"That's enough for now, ladies," Friedkin said after a while.

The cadets stood back up, now drenched in sweat.

"We're gonna do the _real_ training now," Friedkin said, a smirk forming on her muzzle. "We're gonna start with the _frigid ice wall_!"

There were a few groans, but a glare from Friedkin put an end to that.

"Line up!" Everyone got lined up, ready to begin on the Tundratown course. "Go!" They all darted as fast as they could to the wall.

.

As Nick kept getting some of the highest marks in the class that day, the bears continued to give him a glare—one that made the fur on your neck stand up. As Nick and his roommates were taking a break around the water cooler, Aaron nudged Nick.

"You seem a bit distant. You ok?" Aaron asked.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah, I'm fine," Nick replied.

"Well, you've been doing great on the courses, but you don't even seem to be paying attention."

"I've got some _motivation_."

"Like what?"

Nick motioned towards the bears. "Them."

"Oh! Let me talk to them," Aaron said, walking over to them.

"Good luck!" Jordan shouted after him.

"So, tell me a bit about why you joined the force," Nick said, needing a distraction from the tense feeling the bears gave off.

"Me?" Jordan said. "I joined because I grew up in the 'hood of Zootopia, and I want to make it a better place than when I left."

"That's a good reason."

Just then, Aaron walked back up to the group. He looked like he had seen the devil himself.

"Whoa! What happened?" Jacob asked.

"Those guys are seriously specist to anyone smaller than themselves. They almost pounded my face into the ground. If Friedkin hadn't glanced over towards them, they would've done it. You were right, Nick. They will definitely motivate someone."

"Well then. Let's prove those idiots what a small mammal can do!" Jordon said, throwing his fist into the air. "Who's with me?"

"I am!" Aaron said.

"Me, too," Jacob said.

"You know I am," Nick said.

"Then it's settled. We'll all strive to be the best at everything!" Jordan said, throwing his arms around the shoulders of his roommates. "And we'll stick together through it all!"


End file.
